AJK government, UN Women sign MoU

The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) have joined hands together under a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU signing ceremony was held on Friday by the Secretary of Women Development Department AJK, Mahmood Ahmad Khan and the Country Director UN Women, Alice H Shackelford.
The MoU follows the recent notification of the State Policy Framework for Empowerment of Women and the establishment of the independent Women Development Department in AJK, said a press release issued here. The purpose of this MoU is to maximise the technical assistance, co-operation and co-ordination between the Government of AJK and UN Women to ensure the commitment by both these parties to work effectively towards the empowerment of women in AJK.
The Chief Guest, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed appreciated UN Women for keeping to its commitment to the AJK Government and the technical support that it had been providing in moving forward the agenda of gender equality and women's empowerment in AJK, particularly its support to the Women's Development Department and Social Welfare Department. The Prime Minister reiterated his government's commitment to improve the lives of women and girls in AJK.
While recognising that women make up half the population and continue to lag behind men in almost all walks of life, he stated that the AJK Government would continue to take equitable measures to ensure women's participation in the economic, social and political spheres demonstrable commitments, passage of pro-women legislation and the development of policy measures to prevent all forms of discrimination against women.
Country Director for UN Women, Alice Shackelford recognised the great strides that the AJK Government had taken recently, particularly the formulation of the State Policy Framework for Empowerment of Women, the segregation of the Women's Development Department and the Social Welfare Department, and notification of the State Commission on Women and the Women Parliamentary Caucus.
She also highlighted the progress in AJK on the passage of pro-women legislation and the need to continue the momentum, particularly with respect to acid crime and domestic violence. The event was also attended by Regional Programme Director, UN Women, Anne Stenhammer Sasro, and representatives of UN Women Pakistan Office.